Seattle teachers union authorizes strike, potentially delaying school year start
Unionized educators at Seattle Public Schools (SPS) on Tuesday voted to authorize a strike, which threatens to delay the start of the school year on Wednesday if a contract agreement is not reached.
The Seattle Education Association (SEA) announced on Tuesday afternoon that 95 percent of voters authorized the strike, with three-quarters of its roughly 6,000 members participating.
Union leaders said they are continuing to bargain with the school district throughout the day, but they may begin picketing on Wednesday morning if no agreement is reached.
The union is seeking a commitment to maintain certain staffing ratios for multilingual students and special education students, as the district works to integrate the latter group into general education classrooms.
It is also seeking higher pay increases and policies to cap employees’ workloads.
Jennifer Matter, the union’s president, said students’ needs were “off the charts” last year, calling the school district’s existing proposals “unsustainable” and leading to burnout among teachers.
“No one wants to strike, it’s not something that people just choose,” Matter said. “But SPS has given us no choice, because, again, we can’t go back to the way things have been. We need to fight for something better.”
The union’s contract expired at the end of last month, and the group has been negotiating with the school district since early June.
With no agreement in sight, school system officials on Sunday asked the union to accept a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that would allow the school year to start on time and commit the district to recommending any future salary increase in the new contract be applied retroactively to Sept. 1.
“At this time, SEA has rejected the proposed MOU,” the district said earlier this week. “Starting school on Wednesday is what is best for our students. We understand this uncertainty about a delay is difficult and unsettling for our students, staff and families. We hope that SEA will reconsider this MOU and sign it before Tuesday.”
The district wrote on its website that it will update families and employees as soon as possible if the first day of school is delayed.
The Hill has reached out to the district for further comment.
Source: TEST FEED1
